"We needed a sight of Jesus. We needed something bigger than ourselves to lift our eyes up daily, off of the rubble and off of the worry, and magnify Him. To get to see the church, every generation, denomination, every nationality singing to Him, and just enjoying His beauty and His holiness, and Him wrapping us up as one, it's overwhelming and humbling."- Jennie Riddle

Jennie Riddle, author of Revelation Song, asked the Holy Spirit to provide her a song which would be a painting of God, a song which the angels and all of creation were already singing, so that we as believers could join in the worship with one voice to our one King. The song given to her was Revelation Song. A song inspired directly from scripture itself.

Ezekiel 1:26-28 says of heaven... "There was a throne of sapphire, and high above the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire, and a brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord."

Revelation 4:2-3,5 says... "There before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. From the throne came flashed of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder."

This painting of God should cause each of us to be filled with an awestruck wonder! And remember this: in heaven for all eternity voices around the throne of God himself sing, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty! Who was, and is, and is to come!" Let's join in that song. As one church. And imagine every generation of every nationality singing this praise to Him!

As we do, never forget the worthiness of the Lamb that was slain. The reason we sing. To Jesus all power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise (Revelation 5:12).

worship Him 24/7...scott

Revelation Song lyrics

Worthy is the Lamb who was slainHoly, holy is HeSing a new song to Him who sits onHeaven's mercy seat

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God AlmightyWho was and is and is to comeWith all creation I sing praise to the King of kingsYou are my everything and I will adore You

Clothed in rainbows of living colorFlashes of lighting rolls of thunderBlessing and honor strength and glory and power beTo You the only wise King

Filled with wonder awestruck wonderAt the mention of Your nameJesus Your name is power, breath and living waterSuch a marvelous mystery

Drums & Candles. Do you need them for worship? Most, if not everyone who reads this blog, would say no. Quickly. Yet in South Africa, where I was a few weeks ago, the answer is very different. They struggle with this answer.

Let's consider some other items.

Temple & Alter. Do you need them for worship? Certainly the Pharisees of Jesus day would have claimed as much. In fact, the common belief of the day was that worship had to happen in Jerusalem because that was where the temple stood (John 4:21).

Let's do one more...

Air-Conditioning & Padded Seats. Do you need them for worship? Intellectually, most of you would say no. (There are probably a couple who would say yes. Thanks for your honesty.) But when it comes down to it, would you make a church your home if there was no air-conditioning and no padded seats?

Here in Pennsylvania our winters are bitterly cold and the summers are blisteringly hot. Would all the people in our church have chosen it as their church home if the building was 95F in the summer and 35F in the winter? What if there were only hard wooden benches with splinters?

Sadly, I believe they would not. And for you church goers, I'd say the same for most of the people in most of your churches. Shocking, I know. But true.

Let's get back to South Africa for a moment. You see, the Xhosa people there traditionally sang their cultural songs with drums. As a result, most believe they cannot and should not worship God without a drum. They also believe they cannot and should not worship without candles. They believe there is a reference of candles in Revelation which prompts them to necessitate having candles in their worship. Why? Because they don't understand the reference. They don't understand God's Word fully enough.

And our churches here in the USA are the same way.

For some it is the drum. (Not that we must have it but that we should never have it.) For some it might actually be candles. But for far more it is about the building. It is about the air-conditioning. It is about the padded seats. And to go deeper... it is about the style of the teaching. It is about the style of the music. It is about whether the lady that always sits near their chair, the one they have sat on for 30 years, wears too much perfume.

Let's. Get. Real. You don't need any of that to worship. All you need is spirit and truth (John 4:24). If you think you need anything else, then you do not understand God's Word fully enough. It makes no difference what we have around us. What makes a difference is what is in us. A heart. A spirit. Of truth. Set on one purpose. Glorifying him.

For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him (Colossians 1:16).

God says bring to me all the people who are mine, whom I made for my glory, whom I formed and made (Isaiah 43:7).

How amazing it was for me, a worship pastor, to have questions about drums and candles posed to me 8,000 miles away from home. Why? Because of what they were asking. It was a question about preferences! "I want this in my worship. He does not." How incredible. I travel 8,000 miles and I'm dealing with the same issue there as I do here at home! "I don't like that song." "That guy keeps lifting his arms in front of me while he's singing." I thank God that his Word is the same there and here too!

And God's Word says its not about what you need in worship. It's about Him! And what He wants in worship.

And for those of us who like all our fancy seats and cushy air conditioning and pricey technology (myself included), I say this... think of people like I met and taught in South Africa who have next to nothing. Yet they worship with abandon. Free. Joyous.

Even in a 90F building and splinters-in-your-butt seats.

worship Him 24/7...scott

Pictures of a few teaching locations from my experiences in South Africa.

I had the privilege to be in South Africa teaching God's Word and telling others of Jesus a few weeks ago. It was quite an experience. The teaching time was powerful. The Holy Spirit was moving. The truth was being taught.

At times while I was teaching I felt very much like the words ushering forth from my mouth were not my own. They were from the Holy Spirit. As it should be. Time and time again I would remind those I was teaching that these words were not my own, holding my Bible high over my head, and say... this is God's Word.

I was reminded of Paul's words to the Corinthians... "We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us" (2 Corinthians 4:7). I was and am a fragile jar of clay, my weak and humble body and spirit, empowered by the Might Spirit of God of all of creation! Charged with teaching and proclaiming with power God's truth. This power from the Word itself, living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, or joints and marrow (Hebrews 4:12).

During one class I was teaching about about God's greatness I took the class outside and showed them the beauty of the place we stood in. The mountains. The hills. The trees. The fields. The rivers. The sky. It was a beautiful site. God created it all. With the true Big Bang... the uttering of his own voice. And his creation worships him.

All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name. (Psalm 66:4)

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. (Psalm 19:1)

For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12)

I'm here to be a jar of clay. Empty. To be filled by only One... He who made me and sustains me. He who is my hope and joy. For one purpose... to praise him, glorify him, teach others about his greatness.

Here are some pictures to give just a glimpse of what I experienced. Pictures don't do it justice. Never will. A picture can never grasp the fullness of God or his beauty in creation.

I deserve to go to hell. You deserve to go to hell. So does your mom and my son. This is what we deserve. Believe me these are not easy words to type. But they are true. Because of our selfish and sinful ways. No matter how good we try to be we can never be perfect. And perfection is the standard for heaven.

But... because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ [who was perfect] even when we were dead in our sins. It is by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:4-5). Jesus and his Father, God, were in agreement. They would put themselves on the line. Their love for every person in the world. On the line called the cross.

We didn't deserve this. That's why it is called... GRACE.

Jesus himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed (﻿1 Peter 2:24﻿). Our sins, failings, and mistakes are erased by Christ's death. Like a river washing away our wrongs into an infinite sea, never to be seen again. If we believe. If we surrender and follow Jesus. Then he will rescue our souls from death (Psalm 116:8).

This is the greatest romance in history. God and you. The greatest Valentine you will ever be offered. Will you accept it?

Listen to this song... Love on the Line by Hillsong.

worship Him 24/7...scott

Love on the Line lyrics

You put Your love on the lineTo bear the weight of sin that was mineWashing my river of wrongsInto the sea of Your infinite love

With arms held highLord I give my lifeKnowing I'm found in ChristIn Your love foreverWith all I amIn Your grace I standThe greatest of all romanceLove of God my Savior

Mercy roars like hurricane windsFurious love laid waste to my sin

To the one who has rescued my soulTo the one who has welcomed me homeTo the one who is Savior of allI sing forever

I enjoy the beach. The waves. The sun. The sand castles and moats. I just don't like the sand itself. First, it gets everywhere. (Especially in places some hidden places that isn't all that comfortable.) Second... it is hard to walk on. I need something solid to walk on and stand on.

Life is like that. We often build our life on things that aren't so firm. A love of a hobby. A love of a job. Even a love of a family. These can all be good things. But a solid firm foundation they are not. You need something that is unchanging. Something not like sand that can shift. But something like a rock. Something that will never leave you. Ever.

God has said, "Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)

Those are comforting words. In God, in his Son Jesus, and in his Word we are given a firm foundation which is never changing. That's something to stand on. Like the man who would build his house on the rock rather than the sand (Matthew 7:24-27).

Enjoy this song! It's a cool modern folk version of the old hymn How Firm a Foundation, by Chelsea Moon and the Franz Brothers.

Trust. It's actually rather hard to come by. Here are some stats from Franklin & Covey. In the past year 76% of employees have observed illegal or unethical conduct on the job. Only 36% of employees believe their leaders are honest. 77% of Americans lack trust in their leaders. Trust in the baby boomers was only 40%. Today trust in the millennials is a dismal 19%.

Those are sad statistics.

What is sadder is that our lack of trust for our leaders and particularly our parents, is effecting our trust of God. As humans who see and experience contact with leaders in the flesh, we project our image of these leaders onto our image of the One True Leader, our heavenly Parent: God himself.

Whether you are an unbeliever or a believer, I encourage you... You can trust in God. It's not a cliche on the dollar bill for nothing. He can be trusted. Far more than your boss or president or mom or dad.

Recently I had the privilege of moderating a panel at church regarding knowing God's will for you in your life. The church and I were greatly encouraged to hear time and again how the panel's lives were changed because they first trusted in God for whatever was to come. Not without doubt or struggle! But through the doubt and struggle, they trusted God and continued seeking their next step.

I want to encourage you with some verses which may help you in knowing you can trust God... the good and perfect Father.

Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

2 Samuel 7:28 "O Sovereign lord, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised there good things to your servant."